The Joy of Ingleside
by Lilybookworm13
Summary: Gilbert had always known that Joyce was a perfect blend of himself and Anne, and the letter from the school proved it. " Joyce, you can't just throw a book at someone... Even if he did call you tomato head." But then there was practical Joy, the Blythe side of her " Di, washing your face in morning dew will not make your freckles go away!" She really was Ingleside's pride and joy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, this chapter is an introduction to Joyce's character and is set during Rainbow Valley. The following chapters will be glimpses into Joy's life and then they real story will taken place when she goes to Redmond and it will continue until after World War One. I hope you all enjoy it as it is my second attempt at writing a story about Joyce and I believe this is much better than my first**

 **Lily :)**

* * *

Rainbow Valley was magical in winter, in summer it was colourful and fun and had places to play in the sun or the shade, but when it was covered in snow it looked quite different. A three year old Rilla Blythe once described it as 'the north pole' and her siblings agreed with her because Father Christmas wouldn't have seemed out of place skating along the river.

However, while it was a lovely place in winter it was unusual for anyone to venture out in the cold to spend time in the valley. There was only one exception. In one of the barren trees a boot could be seen hanging off a branch. The boot belonged to one of the Blythe girls. One of the red haired girls. Anyone who saw her would have known it couldn't have been Di, because of that unfortunate incident with the burrs only a few months previously. So the long red braids had to belong to the eldest child - Joyce.

She sat on a high up branch with a tin of biscuits resting against her stomach and she held a book in front of her face. The book? One of her father's medical books. One of the less gory ones. For a young girl of fourteen she was certain about what she wanted to do in the future. And that was nursing.

" Joy." Her solitude had ended as her father walked towards the tree. With ease she jumped out of the tree, and smiled.

" That's where the biscuits got to. Susan was blaming Jem," Gilbert Blythe said, taking said tin from his daughter's arms.

" It is usually Jem," she said, putting her mittened hand in her father's much larger one.

" Between the two of you there is no food left for the rest of us," he said. " I had to stop off at the Robinson house this morning. Miss Robinson only has good things to say about you. She wants you to sit the Queens exam next year."

" But I won't be old enough. You have to be sixteen and I won't be sixteen until the end of June," Joy said.

" She is going to ask them to let you sit it anyway," Gilbert said.

" I'll have to study harder then. Everyone else will be a bit older than me."

" I'm sure you'll manage. Are you coming with me this afternoon?" Gilbert asked. On a Friday afternoon he visited the people who had no one else to check on them, and the newborn babies. Joyce loved going with him, she was a ray of sunshine for everyone she met.

" Yes please. Is Mrs Carr's little baby alright? You said last week she was awful ill," she said.

" She's much better now. You have to be careful when a baby is so small, they have a very weak immune system."

" Is it going to snow again Daddy? I feel sorry for people who have never seen snow. It's so magical. It's like living in a different world. A world where dwarves and fauns and fairies and pixies exist. I think in that world Rainbow Valley would be home to hundreds of creatures, it's such a wonderful place. They would just be drawn to it," Joy said, opening the back door and stepping into the warm kitchen. She kicked the snow off her boots and then took her outside clothes off.

Gilbert watched her with a smile. That was Joy. She was so changeable, one minute she was sensible and spoke with a tone belonging to someone twice her age and the next minute she was in the world of her imagination where Di and Walter lived as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Dr Blythe held the baby in his arms. He should have been happy. He was a father, but he knew it wouldn't last. The little girl was as white as a sheet and she was almost weightless in his arm. Or she would have been if if wasn't for the multitude of blanket wrapped around her.

Maybe their Joyce wasn't meant to live but Gilbert Blythe wasn't the type to give up easily. He would do everything he could to help her survive.

Anne lay in their bed asleep, exhausted. He had told her there was no chance, thinking that it was best to prepare her for the worst. In case she woke and Joyce had already joined the angels.

Joyce whimpered and opened her large eyes, Gilbert allowed himself to smile at this. The slight noise gave her the hope that his daughter would be as strong willed as himself and Anne and that she would not be leaving this world without a fight.

He could see the hair on her head was already resembling a reddish colour and her eyes when open were dark. He could imagine that she was the image of Anne as a baby. But they'd never know that for certain.

Gilbert sat for hours watching over Anne and Joyce. He only let Joyce leave his arms when the nurse fed her. It stayed like this the following night. It was only when little Joyce was three days old that he slipped her into her crib for the first time. And then he started to think of himself as a father, because if she had lived this long she would be fine.


	3. Chapter 3

Dr and Mrs Blythe were known in the Glen for rarely punishing their children. It was rare that they felt a need to hit one of the children and usually they resorted to talking to them after they committed a misdeed. However, they both found it even harder to punish some of the children. Anne was never truly angry at Jem because looking at him she always saw the boy who brought her mayflowers. For Gilbert it was Di that he had trouble punishing. Looking at her he just saw Anne, no matter what she did it reminded him of something her mother had done as a child.

Joy was a child who rarely needed punished, and the Blythes were grateful for this, there were the rare occasions but even then she got off lightly.

Doctor Gilbert Blythe stared over his desk as Joy, who was slipping further and further down the wooden chair, looking much smaller than eleven. He expected that she would be looking anywhere but at him yet a pair of large hazel eyes met his own.

" Do you want to explain yourself and then I'll read the letter?"

" It wasn't my fault Daddy," she said, she leaned forward in the chair and placed her elbows on the desk. " I tried to be good and ignore it. And I was doing so well. Essie sits beside me, she can be a witness if you want. On Monday, he kept poking me with his pencil. On Tuesday, he was abnormally loud. On Wednesday, he kept pulling my hair. And then today. Today, he called me tomato head! Is there a more revolting name? I had to do something, but my temper got the better of me. I got so angry that I threw a book at him. It wasn't my fault it gave him a black eye."

Gilbert placed a hand in front of his mouth to hide his smile. Like mother, like daughter.

" Who was this Joy?" He asked.

" Richard Brewer. He's new and I'm pretty sure he's the most irritating boy on the planet!" She said. Gilbert now opened the letter from Mr Smythe.

It described the incident and it's aftermath and then how they should teach they daughter some manners and how to control her temper.

That last line made him laugh, it took a lot to make Joy angry. She was usually such a calm little girl.

" I think you should apologise to him tomorrow." Joy shook her head and looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

" I never speaking to him again. So I'm definitely not apologising!"

" It's not good to hold grudges," Gilbert said.

" So you say. Can I go now? I have homework," she said, and he nodded. She jumped up from the chair and ran out of the office.

Gilbert leaned back in his chair and laughed, he was interested in what would happen next. And if she stuck to her word then the boy would never stand a chance. He was sure she would stick to her word as well and he was glad, he didn't want any boys around his angel.


	4. Chapter 4

At half past eight the seven Blythe children lifted their school books and lunch pails from where they were sitting by the front door.

It was the first school day after the summer holiday, and while no one wanted to return to the stuffy schoolroom that would be full of children, the children were interested in their new teacher. They were more than used to new teachers, as they changed every year or two but they had never known their teacher before. And their teacher had never been a friend of theirs before.

" Be good and work hard. And don't play up on Freddie, his first day will be hard enough with all of you in his class," Anne Blythe said, kissing each head as it went out the door.

" Are you suggesting that we misbehave Mother?" Jem asked, sharing a look with Joy. As children they had always been up to mischief, but now the two eldest were growing up and had stopped the tricks... Well most of the tricks.

" Be good," was their Mother's final warning as they ran down the path.

" Do you think Freddie will be a good teacher?" Nan asked.

" Can we call him Freddie?" Rilla asked.

" Don't be silly, in school he's Mr Wright," Di answered.

" Will he be nice to us?" Shirley asked.

" It wouldn't be right to show favouritism," Walter said, as they reached the Manse where the Merediths were waiting on them. The large group split at this point as Jem and Jerry walked together, the twins, Faith and Una were slightly behind them and Rilla, Shirley and Carl followed. This left Walter and Joy to bring up the rear of the group.

At the Glen schoolhouse Joy ran to her friends, who were sitting on the steps.

" He's awful handsome," Violet Carter said, as Joy sat beside her.

" Who?" She asked.

" Our new teacher. I saw him walk in about twenty minutes ago. I don't think he's much older than me," Violet said.

" You're fourteen and he's got to be at least seventeen," Essie Jones replied.

" And if he's as handsome as you say then he probably has a girl wherever he's from," Lydia Welsh said.

" Avonlea," Joy inputed.

" What?" Lydia asked. Joy tried hard to hide her smile.

" He's from Avonlea. I've known him all my life. That's why he's boarding at Ingleside," she said. " And he's nineteen."

" I think I could still have a chance. Will you properly introduce us Joy?" Violet asked. " I think he'd be a nice beau."

" No." The word was out before she had thought about it. Afterwards she thought about why she had answered negatively. It was because Freddie was her friend, at least that was what she told herself but she couldn't ignore the butterflies in her stomach when she thought of him nor the feeling of jealously when Violet called him handsome.

The door behind them opened before Violet could ask Joy why and they entered the school. As always Joy sat beside Essie in the very back seat, because they were the oldest students at fifteen.

Freddie watched the class settle and then he walked to the front of the desk. It was third year teaching, but he hadn't been so nervous before. At the front of the class little Rilla was smiling up at him, with a mouth only half full of teeth and at the back Joy was watching him closely and when he caught her eye she nodded and smiled.

" Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a nice summer. I'm Mr Wright and I'll be your teacher this year. Shall we started with the register?" He picked up the old leather book and a pen. He went through every child and checked their age and what class they were in.

" And before we start, who will be sitting the Queens entry examination this year?" He asked and Joy was the only person to raise their hand. Unlike Avonlea where most pupils were will to try the entry exam the children of the Glen were content to be farmers or farmers' wives.

" Alright, I work with you separately then Joyce. Now we'll all begin with Mathematics."

The school day was perfectly normal - there was reading, writing, history and geography, and because it was the first day Mr Wright had given no homework! That made him an immediate favourite among the younger children who were eager to get outside while the weather was still summery.

By four that afternoon Joy had decided she was never going to talk to Violet Carter again. At fourteen the only thing she cared about was boys and all she had spoken about that day was Mr Wright and his perfect blond hair and his blue eyes that were like the ocean. She had also made up her mind that Fred Wright Junior would be her beau, and that made that feeling in Joy's stomach flare up again.

Joy walked towards Ingleside along, she was going slowly, looking around her and thinking.

" Joy!" The boy who had once been the bane of her existence ran to catch up with her.

" All alone today?" Richard asked, with a smile.

" I like being alone," she replied. The incident with the book was long forgotten and while she wouldn't call him a friend they were friendly.

" Do you think you could help me with Algebra this year?" He asked. Richard had no reason to still be at school, by law he could have finished last year but he continued going so he could see Joy Blythe.

" I'm not sure. I have a lot of extra studying to do for Queens," she replied. " If you need help Mr Wright could go over things with you." He sighed, he didn't want to spend extra time with their teacher, he wasn't even that bad at algebra.

" Do you want to go for a walk before you go home?" He asked.

" I can't. I have to help Mother," she said.

" Maybe another time then. I'll see you tomorrow," Richard said, turning and walking back to his farm. It seemed like Joy was never going to notice him. However, she seemed enamoured with Mr Wright, in school she clung on to his every word and she went red every time he addressed her.


	5. Chapter 5

Joyce's birthday 16th birthday fell on a Friday and the morning of the 27th of June dawned bright and promising. As well as her birthday it also happened to be the day the Queens results were published.

The Blythe children had a lot to live up to as their parents had tied for first in the entrance exam. They never felt any pressure, but that didn't mean that they weren't eager to please their mother and father.

The five elder children stood outside the post office and Jem was flicking through the newspaper, trying to find the right page.

" Hurry up Jem!" Di said, tugging at the side of the paper.

" Got it." He held the paper out to Joy, who shook her head and turned away.

" You tell me, I'm too nervous to look," she said. Jem nodded and he began to look at the list - from the bottom up. After a few minutes Di pulled the newspaper from her eldest brother's hands. Nan looked over her shoulder and pointed at the first name.

" You're top Joy. You came first!" She cried, giving her eldest sister a hug. Joy took the newspaper and looked at it in shock.

" 91%" Walter said.

" We need to go back and tell Mother and Daddy before he goes back after lunch," Nan said. The other four nodded and they walked back to Ingleside.

Joy trailed slightly behind the others, looking at the pass list. Jem grabbed Nan's arm and she looked up at him.

" Go up and tell them we're coming," he whispered, looking back to check that Joy hasn't heard. She nodded and the twins ran around the corner to the house.

" That's a nice present Joy," Walter said, falling into step beside his sister.

" I never expected it. It was a hard exam, I wasn't even sure if I had passed," Joy said.

" You worked hard for it, too hard as Dad said. Anyway you deserved first place. Lets see if Susan has any cookies, I'm hungry," Jem said, flinging an arm around his sister's shoulder.

" We had lunch a half hour ago," Joy laughed.

" If even," Walter added.

The trio walked into Ingleside, which was silent and went straight through to the kitchen.

" Where is everyone?" Joy asked, the newspaper still lay on the table and dishes sat in the drainer.

" It's a nice day, maybe they're outside," Jem said, as Walter smiled. Joy walked out the kitchen door.

" Surprise!"

The Ingleside lawn was full of people. The Blythe family were standing, watching as Joy rushed down the steps. The Merediths were there and Fred Wright Junior, the Glen's teacher as well as mist of the people her age from the village. But to her surprise the rest of the Wright family along with the Keiths and old Aunt Marilla were sitting there.

The sixteen year old hurried around giving out hugs and kisses and saying hellos and thank yous. Freddie grabbed her arm and she stopped.

" Well?" He asked.

" I got in," was all she said.

" She came top!" Nan supplied.

" Of course you did," he said, and he hugged her. " You had a great teacher."

" I did?" Joy said, smiling at him before she ran off.

The afternoon was one of the nicest in Joy's memory. She got to spend time with her family, including her father who had gotten another doctor nearby to take care of his afternoon calls, Susan had made a feast fit for the King of England, with chicken pie and chocolate cake. She had a mountain of presents to open, because basically everyone had gotten her something. There were handkerchiefs and books and pincushions and her parents had bought her a little heart shaped locket, that was engraved on the back.

 _Happy birthday to our Joy. Love Mother and Daddy._

" Do you want to go somewhere less crowded?" After opening her final present Joy had retreated to the back porch. She loved parties but she also loved watching people.

" I wasn't expecting a party let alone all these people," Joy laughed, as she followed Richard around the side of the house, unlike the back garden the front was empty.

" Present." He held out a small box and she took it.

" Thank you, you didn't have to get me any..." She stopped as she took of the lid. A ring lay inside it.

" Joyce, I've loved you since the minute I saw you. Will you marry me?" By the last word he was holding the ring and kneeling in front of her.

With her arms behind her back Joy pinched herself, in the hope that she was dreaming. She was awake. She couldn't marry him, she didn't even think they were close friends.

" Richard.. I.. I can't," she said, looking away from him and wishing this experience was over.

" I'm not going to stop you going to Queens if that's what you're worried about. A year's a good time for an engagement and by that time I can be settled on our farm."

" No. I'm sorry but I can't. The smile from his face disappear, he had never expected her to say no. Joy then hurried into the house and up the stairs until she reached her bed where she promptly lay down and cried.

She felt horrible and mean. She had hurt him. He was probably heartbroken and she'd be the cause of his death. Should she have said yes? What if that was the only proposal she would get? What if no one else wanted her because of her red hair? Or because of her freckles? But she couldn't have said yes. She didn't want to be a farmer's wife. She wanted to go to college. She wanted to be a nurse.

Joy was unaware of her mother entering her room until she sat on the bed beside her.

" Mummy?" Through her tears she recognised her Mother's hair.

" I'm here. Are you sick? You worried Rilla, she heard you crying and ran down to get me," Anne said, as her daughter sat up and curled into her.

" I feel awful Mother. Richard Brewer proposed and I said no," Joy said, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Anne knew it had been coming, he had spoken to Gilbert the week before about it. They both knew that he would be refused, he wasn't Joy's type of person.

" I know, but don't let it worry you. He'll forget about it soon," Anne said.

" But I feel terrible Mother, I think I really hurt him."

" I don't think you need to worry about him. He will be fine and soon he'll find the girl he was meant to marry. Sometimes young men think that they're supposed to marry quickly and they don't think of the girl's feelings, they just think of her as a person willing to do what they want."

" What if that was my only chance Mother? What if no one else loves me?" Joy asked, she sat back against the wall and played with the frayed edge of her blanket.

" You don't need to worry about that yet. You're still young and when you go to Redmond you will be meeting hundreds of people and I'm sure at least two of them will fall madly in love with you," Anne said, hoping that it would make Joy smile, and it worked.

" Mother? How did you know to say yes to Daddy?" Joy asked.

" I didn't. When he first asked I said no. At that time I thought we were just friends and your father wasn't what I thought my ideal was. After that we didn't talk a lot and I missed him, but I had another beau, he was like something out of a novel but he wasn't the most interesting. So when he proposed I said no as well. And then I was back in Avonlea for the summer holidays and Uncle Davy said 'Anne, did you know that Gilbert Blythe's dying?' I think that's when I realised I was in love. It was that night that his fever went down and he was better within a week. I was over as often as possible and when he was well enough to walk long distances he came over to Green Gables and went for a walk. He asked me again and I said yes, because he was the only thing I wanted."

" But I've never seen any other mother and father like you. You and Daddy are always so happy," Joy said.

" Because we're best friends as well. It would be absolutely pointless to marry someone if you weren't friendly with them," Anne said. There was a knock on the door and Gilbert stepped in.

" I wondering if I needed to check on the patient before I go?" He said with a smile.

" I'm fine Daddy. I'll wash my face and then go back downstairs," Joy said, standing up and going over to her jug and washbowl. She poured a bit of water out and dipped her cloth into it. She scrubbed her face, trying to get rid of the tear marks.

" Joy. I can't sleep. Will you tell me a story?" Rilla shouted from the next room. Joy smiled at her parents and walked out of her own room and into her sister's.

" She's alright?" Gilbert asked.

" I think so. She wasn't expecting it," Anne said.

" Neither was I. She's fif-sixteen," Gilbert said, and Anne laughed. If he had his way the four Blythe girls would be allowed within ten feet of the male species.


	6. Chapter 6

At the bottom of the stairs two old, battered brown trunks sat ready to begin their travels to Charlottetown and Kingsport. On one the initials G.B had been crossed out and below them J.M.B had replaced them. The other trunk was similar except the A.S had been replaced by J.B. the new owners of the trunks stood nearby saying another goodbye as their siblings crowded around them.

" Will you be back for Christmas?" Shirley asked, looking up at his brother and sister, at ten he hadn't yet had his growth spurt and was the shortest of the family.

" Yes, and try not to pester Mother and Father too much," Jem said.

" And I want you all to write at least once a week, I want to know all the Glen news," Joy said.

" Ready?" Gilbert asked, looking at his eldest children. They nodded and with a final goodbye dragged their trunks on to the front porch to be lifted into the buggy.

Joy and Jem got into the back seat and waved until Ingleside was out of sight. And Ingleside was suddenly a lot quieter, as the two leavers were also the loudest.

" You both have everything?" Gilbert checked.

" Yes Dad," Joy answered, and Jem nodded.

" The train will take you straight to Charlottetown and then you have to show Jem how to get to Queens and then get the ferry to the mainland," Gilbert said.

" I'll be fine, don't worry. I'll be crossing with the Avonlea students anyway," Joy said.

At the station the trunks were loaded on to the train, the two tickets were bought and on the platform Gilbert hugged his children for the last time, he wouldn't see them until Christmas and that seemed so far away.

* * *

The student dormitory at Redmond was a fairly new building, it had been realised that it was easier to keep students on campus and it was also less expensive for the student than staying in a boarding house.

Joy walked up to her new room as girls rushed around talking and trying to find their own rooms.

When she opened the door to her room a girl was already standing by one of the beds.

" Hello! I'm Ollie, you're my roommate aren't you? I'm sure we'll be good friends. Do you mind that I've taken this bed? It's too cold beside the window," she said, hurrying around the bed to shake Joy's hand and help her pull her trunk in.

" I'm Joy," she replied, quite quietly, as she wasn't sure what to think of this girl yet, except that she reminded her of an overexcited puppy.

" Where are you from Joy?" Ollie asked, sitting on her bed.

" Glen St Mary, P.E.I," Joy replied, unlocking her trunk. The lid sprung open straight away as it had barely closed in the first place. Her clothes were at the top and then were her books which made up three quarters of the weight of the trunk.

" I'm from Bolingbrook, Nova Scotia." Joy nodded, as she began to put her things away. She hung up her clothes and put her shoes at the bottom of her bed, she put her books on the bookshelf and on her desk sat the photograph of her family as well as her mother's book.

" Tales from Avonlea. I love that book! My aunt read it to me all the time when I was younger! A good friend of hers wrote it you know." Ollie had rushed over to the desk to pick up the book and out of it fell a few pages. Joy gathered them quickly, making sure they were in the right order and then smiled.

" My parents are from Avonlea," she said, trying to figure out who this girl was. " I still spend a bit of my summers there."

" I used to love this one. About the orphan girl." Ollie had found the chapter she was looking for and held it out.

" Mother said it was the easiest chapter to write. She just based it on real life," Joy said, and Ollie's mouth fell open.

" You're Anne Shirley's daughter? And Gilbert Blythe?" Joy nodded twice. " Aunt Phil won't believe it! What are the odds that we would end up sharing a room. Wait until we write home about it. I think we'll be good friends Joy. After all your mother is still awful close to Aunt Phil." Joy laughed in agreement and slipped her pages back in the book before closing it.

" Are you a writer too?" Ollie asked.

" Hardly. Not compared to Mother she has such a way with words. And my brother Walter, he's going to be a famous poet. But me? I suppose I'm a bit of a writer, I have the ideas and I wrote them down but they aren't very good," Joy replied.

" I think I should be the judge of that! What are you studying then?" Ollie asked.

" Science, I want to go into nursing next year," Joy said.

" I'm studying languages. I've a real flare for them, I can speak French and Latin and a little German too. Shall we go find the good hall? I didn't want to go alone," Ollie said, already lifting her coat off her bed. Joy nodded and did the same. She put on her hat and then they walked out of the room arm in arm, as if they'd known one another for years.


End file.
